UE fencer clinches gold in SEAFF tilt

University of the East (UE) fencer Khiane Felipe captured the gold medal for the Philippines as he ruled the men's sabre in the Southeast Asian Fencing Federation (SEAFF) Cadet and Junior Championships last Monday at the Arena TSH in Kuala Lumpur.

A member of the national team set to make his Southeast Asian (SEA) Games debut in Thailand this December, the 17-year-old Felipe came through with a dominant 15-8 win against Nathagorn Malaithong of Thailand for his first gold medal in SEAFF cadet and junior.

However, it wasn’t a walk in the park for Felipe as it came with hard-fought wins.

Despite an unblemished 5-0 record after the opening round pools, Felipe only ranked No. 4 entering the Direct Eliminations. After an easy 15-4 win against Malaysia's Nigel Chee Yang Goh, Felipe escaped with a 15-11 victory over home bet Zi Hao Teh and had to dig deep in his arsenal to score a thrilling 15-14 triumph against Malaysian Keane Leong U-Quan in the semifinal round.

Felipe said his success here is all because of the hard work in training under national team head coach and UE mentor Amat Canlas, as well as Chester Uy and Iranian Alireza Taherkhani - sabre coaches of the Philippine Fencing Team.

"It's a big boost to win a gold medal in SEAFF since we are preparing for this year's SEA Games. Big thank you to our national team coaches, their encouragement, patience that helped me improve my game. Also to my teammates at UE and the national team for their support," Felipe said.

A college freshman taking up Hospitality Management at UE, Felipe said that his next goal is to perform well in his first stint in the SEA Games, a dream come true since his brothers - current national team member Kulai Felipe and former national team member Tipoy Felipe - have played in the biennial meet.

"That's what we're preparing for, the SEA Games. Winning in the SEAFF is a good indication that our preparation is on the right track," said Felipe, who won the gold medal in men’s sabre during his final year in the juniors’ division in Season 87 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines fencing championship last March.

It was the second gold medal for the Philippines in SEAFF as PAREF Southridge School’s Enrico Fuentes ruled the men's epee following a nail-biting 15-14 win against Benjamin Shijie Lee of Singapore.

Miyake Capina of De La Salle Zobel pocketed the silver medal in women's foil after losing in the finals, 7-14 to Malaysia's Surayya Rizzal, while Jada Divinagracia of Multiple Intelligence International School and Hannah Belarmino of Ateneo de Manila University took bronze medals in the same category.

Louis Shoemaker of UE, who is also set to make his first SEA Games stint this December, settled with a bronze medal after a heartbreaking 12-15 setback in the semifinals to eventual gold medal winner Saif Nordin of Malaysia in men's foil.

Action continues Tuesday with the team events, while the cadet competition is set Wednesday and Thursday.

Other members of the UE fencing squad here are James Lim in men's foil; Willa Galvez, Yuna Canlas, Eia Mendoza, Aly Gilbert and Leila Vizcayno in women's foil; Anthony Concepcion, Charles Babatio and Marco Palmado in men's sabre; Celyna Palmado, Nicol Canlas and Shy Catantan in women's sabre; Nina Canlas and Irish Manaois in women's epee; Boo Geronimo and Ruzel Gallano in men's epee.

Supported by Nickel Asia Corporation (NAC), Rain or Shine and NLEX, Galvez captured the gold medal with Hagia del Castillo and Nana Cruz in the under-14 women's epee team event earlier in the SEAFF Minime competition.

Galvez, who turned 14 last Wednesday, delivered big in the semifinals by scoring 22 points in the team's 45-34 win versus top seed Malaysia, before del Castillo - gold medalist in the under-14 women's foil individual - top scored with 15 points in a 31-26 victory over Singapore in the finals.

The men's foil team of Elijah Timbol, Pico Montano and Inigo Divinagracia also bagged the gold, as well as the troika of Jude Canaveral, Joaquin de Silos and Jacob Mayo in men's epee team.

Divinagracia, Timbol and Montano defeated Malaysia B in the semifinals, 45-27, before scoring a come-from-behind 45-42 win against Malaysia B in men's foil team finals, while Canaveral, de Silos and Mayo edged Singapore B, 45-40, in the semis and finished with a dominant 45-32 win against Singapore A in the finals.

Drake Chung, Miguel de Guzman, Sean Ragos and Aidan Taguinod settled with the silver medal after losing to Thailand in the finals, 45-39, in the men's sabre team, while Catantan, Canlas and Elise Acuzar got the bronze in women's sabre team.